2016 Election – Impact on Compliance IssuesNovember 9, 2016 – BB&T Insurance ServicesExcerpt: “Regardless of any future changes that may be made, employers that provide group health coverage for their employees must prepare for upcoming ACA deadlines. These may include…”

2016 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List Health & WelfareNovember 9, 2016 – Snell & WilmerExcerpt: “The Health Care Reform Act created the transitional reinsurance program, which requires most self-insured health plans to make contributions to HHS for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 calendar years. The contribution amount is determined by the number of covered lives under each plan. The number of covered lives must be calculated and submitted to HHS by November 15 of each year. The third and final filing is due November 15, 2016 for the 2016 calendar year.”

ColoradoCare measure Amendment 69 defeated soundlyNovember 9, 2016 – The Denver PostExcerpt: “Amendment 69, the ballot measure known as ColoradoCare that would have created a universal health care system in Colorado, was soundly defeated Tuesday night…Amendment 69 would have eliminated most private health insurance in the state and replace it with a taxpayer-funded cooperative known as ColoradoCare, which would have provided coverage to every single Colorado resident. It would have been paid for, largely, through a 10 percent payroll tax — workers at businesses would have been responsible for a third of the tax, while their employers would have picked up the rest; the self-employed would have paid the full 10 percent.”

ACA Compliance Alert: "Opt-Out Payments" to Employees Who Decline Employer Health CoverageNovember 9, 2016 – Frost Brown Todd LLCExcerpt: “The employee's "tax family" consists of the employee and all individuals the employee is reasonably expected to claim as a personal exemption on his or her individual tax return. One thing to note - this term can include individuals that are not eligible under the employer plan (e.g., dependents who are age 26 or older). When the requirements of an eligible opt-out arrangement are met, the opt-out payment is not considered for affordability purposes for the entire period of coverage to which the payment applies, even if the other coverage subsequently terminates for the employee or a member of the employee’s expected tax family.”

Hospital and Health System Health Benefit Plan Obligations Under New Nondiscrimination Rules: ACA Section 1557 and Requirements for Federal ContractorsNovember 7, 2016 – Alston & Bird LLPExcerpt: “This impacts any entity (or health benefit plan) that receives federal financial assistance, including Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements. Two new regulations require some employers to make health plan design and administrative changes. While not all employers are subject to these requirements, those who are will need to review their plans and be aware of other obligations these rules impose…The Section 1557 regulations will impact employer-sponsored plans in several ways. Employers looking to assess application of Section 1557 to themselves or their health plan should determine whether they fit into any of these categories…”

Can an Employer Require That an Employee Submit FMLA Certification from a Specialist to Support the Need for FMLA Leave?November 4, 2016 – Franczek RadeletExcerpt: “Therefore, a generic note even from the psychiatrist stating that the employee can return to work is not good enough. As the court also affirmed here, the employer has the right to insist that the health care provider review the job description for the position and confirm that the employee can perform those job duties. And, according to this court, the employer can require that this information be provided by the psychiatrist, as opposed to a primary care doctor.”

Overtime Changes Take Effect December 1, 2016November 3, 2016 – BB&T Insurance ServicesExcerpt: “A Department of Labor (DOL) final rule is set to increase the salary threshold for the “white collar overtime exemptions” to $47,476 per year. Recent challenges to the rule have left some questioning whether it will take effect on Dec. 1, 2016 as scheduled.”

FMLA Fraud Finding Leads To Employer Court VictoryNovember 3, 2016 – Fisher PhillipsExcerpt: “Further, the court noted that United showed no signs of bias against employees who took FMLA leave. In fact, in the two years prior to the investigation, the employer approved 56 days’ worth of intermittent leave requested by Sharif, never once rejecting his requests. “This is not the record of a company that is historically hostile to FMLA leave in any discernable way,” the court said.”